Fall 2021 allowed us to return to in-person meetings, classes, and field trips after a year of Zoom meetings. It was such a joy to collaborate face to face again! Although we had to adjust to a “new normal” of masking and social distancing, following university guided protocols allowed us to gather in academic fellowship and community, a most stimulating and enriching part of life at Penn.
In September, the H+U+D Colloquium welcomed several new Faculty Fellows, who were joined by two Junior Fellows and two Doctoral Dissertation Fellows. New and returning Faculty Fellows, each appointed for two-year terms, continued to expand the themes undertaken by the previous cohort, focusing on inclusion and diversity in the city and built environment broadly construed. We also welcomed Franca Trubiano (Architecture, Weitzman School of Design) as H+U+D co-director.
In AY21-22, H+U+D sponsored four courses: a graduate problematics course on modern architectural theory; a seminar collaboration with our “Anchor Institution,” the Philadelphia Lazaretto; and two undergraduate courses taught by our Junior Fellows (“On the Move-Landscapes of Migration, Mobility, and Racialization” and “Don’t Forget: Inclusion, Exclusion, and Memory in the Contemporary City”). H+U+D also continued its support of student research by awarding nine research grants to undergraduates and graduate students. The awardees presented their work during two colloquium sessions in Spring 2022. Their research ranged from investigating the creation of inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ+ community to exploring ways to design environmentally sustainable cities across the globe.
This year, we look forward to providing an environment that inspires faculty and students to ask important questions about how Humanities and Design can work together to imagine, construct, and analyze public spaces that are inclusive, sustainable, and diverse. Although AY22-23 will be the final year of the Mellon grant, we look forward to continuing to foster an interdisciplinary community that encourages us to revisit these themes and priorities for the benefit of future generations of all city dwellers.

Download PDF